Pa. Steel Products Procurement Act

Pa. Steel Products Procurement Act was passed in 1978 with a stated purpose to protect the U.S. market for steel production and supply. The Act provides that any steel products used or supplied on a Pennsylvania public works contract must be made in the U.S. If the steel product contains any foreign steel, it is a U.S. product only if 75% of the cost of the product has been mined, produced, or manufactured in the U.S. A public works contract is one for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement, or maintenance of public works. The Philadelphia School District includes in the general conditions of the specifications Made in USA language. All aluminum and steel products used on this Project must be manufactured in the United States of America. All ferrous metal products used on a Project must comply with the requirements of the Steel Products Procurement Act (73 P.S. §1881 et seq., as amended). The Contractor shall complete and submit to the School District or Program Manager the appropriate Steel Origin Certification on forms ST1 to ST4, provided with a Contract for all ferrous metal products prior to incorporating them into a Project, attached hereto as an Exhibit to the General Conditions. The Contractor shall be responsible for procuring and submitting appropriate Steel Origin Certifications from his Subcontractors or fabricators, as applicable. The School District shall enforce the Steel Products Procurement Act by means of removal and replacement of non-complying steel products, at the sole expense of the Contractor. Pennsylvania has amended the Act to include a list of steel products, such as machinery and equipment, that are not produced in the United States in sufficient quantities and that are therefore exempt. For example at the time of this post many of the components of a fire alarm system (e.g. Annunciator Panel, Encl. for Annunciator, Fire Alarm NAC Extender, Fire Alarm Peripherals, etc.) can be from outside the USA. Thanks to Christopher I. McCabe, Esq., Government Contracts Attorney and Ken Longo, Contracts Management Compliance Philadelphia School District.